LEN Teh Footy God's Footballodium

I love the screams of joy from the tower blocks on the clip of the goal against Spain. Really brought a smile to my face.

I remember me and my dad watching that game, and doing much the same thing when he scored. Truly, the man was one of the all time greats, and it was lovely to witness his comeback. (Zidane, not my father.)

My favourite World Cup goal from an aesthetic point of view is this one, though. I love the way the ball barely touches the ground during the build up, and the finish is absolutely outrageous.

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Originally Posted by Caledonian Rhyfelwyr

My favourite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltn13sMvJSs

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I guess that was the "Hand of GOD" ~:shock:, not Maradona itself!:laugh4:

Anyway, fortunately there are so many fantastic goals we may choose for favourites. Let's hope a lote more for the next competitions. :yes: :beam: :2thumbsup:

Well, well, well rdeče.jabolko, looks like your lot hero worship my lot! Muhahaha!

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ABERDEEN hope to get the green light later this month to move to a new stadium.

If proposals for a community complex aren't passed, the Dons could play European ties away from Pittodrie because the delapidated ground would be too dangerous.

A similar scheme was rejected four years ago but chairman Stewart Milne is confident approval for a ground similar to Bolton's Reebok Stadium will be granted on December 19.

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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/f...6908-20205119/

:whip: :egypt:

Milne is a :daisy: All he has ever been concerned with is getting some
new flats with a sea view.

Of course, though... yes... Bolton is the, uh... benchmark. :shifty: Home
attendance down your way is just about as poor as here.

Oh, and Louis, this one almost slipped under the radar, didn't it? :grin2:
Lucky you, though! I caught up with Ligue 1 last night.

Edit: Goals only.

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Originally Posted by rdeče.jabolko

Oh, and Louis, this one almost slipped under the radar, didn't it? :grin2:
Lucky you, though! I caught up with Ligue 1 last night.

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Last night? That five nil thrashing was from last week.

This week's antics of that bunch of sorry sods playing in back saw Bordeaux give away a 3-0 lead after sixtyfive minutes. Toulouse came back to 3-3 within a ten minute timespan. Forget about Liverpool - Milan, here's how to piss away a 3-0 lead. :furious3:

Thankfully, Ducasse made it 4-3 again in the last minute. And both goals by Wendel are sweeet. :yes:

Sorry to sidetrack, but Aberdeen looked impressive at he weekend there rdece, just a few days after a big Euro game as well.

BTW, in that Bordeaux-Toulouse game, check out the defenders attempt at a goaline clearance for that second goal. That must have been God's other hand.

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

Last night? That five nil thrashing was from last week.

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Yes, I know. Was only just able to watch the Toulouse highlights last night after
recovering from the shock of hearing about the Caen result. Felt it deserved to
get a mention here, of course. ~;)

And Hibs fairly contributed to that result, Rhy.

Anyone noticed Nürnberg [aka. one of the cities in MTW2] won yesterday an UEFA Cup game against Alkmaar 2:1?...The comeback of Marek Mintal who scored in minute 83. and 85....Everybody was thinking the game is lost for Nürnberg....

Anyways: Respect out to the Dutch team: Alkmaar dominated the 1st half completely and are a team to watch in the next years; young, good skills, athletic and well sponsored....:2thumbsup:

Of course it was noticed. Nürnberg had to come through some tough trials,
clearly. I think AZ will be all the more disappointed considering they look to
be relegation material in the league. Given my dislike for van Gaal, though, I
was quite pleased.

[Will be watching Anderlecht - Tottenham tonight.]

Elsewhere in Uefa Cup football:

Hundreds of Bolton fans have been detained in Belgrade, ahead of the
match against Crvena Zvezda.

I'm so dissapointed at the moment with Ajax and the Romanian teams. From the good things that happened last year, Romanian football is in a free fall! :no:

Your national team qualified, quite convincingly, for Euro 2008. I don't think
you're in a position to complain. Free fall is just exaggeration.

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Hundreds of Bolton Wanderers football fans were detained at a Belgrade hotel ahead of the club's Uefa Cup tie.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7131542.stm

:inquisitive:

...and then I read this...

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Red Star Belgrade 0-1 Bolton

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...pe/7131141.stm

Ahh well, at least we're winning, although those poor buggers won't see the game.

I won't swear, honest. :thumbsdown:

:furious3:

Blimey. :beam:

Indeed. You're going to need your abacus in a couple of weeks, IA.

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Originally Posted by rdeče.jabolko

Your national team qualified, quite convincingly, for Euro 2008. I don't think
you're in a position to complain. Free fall is just exaggeration.

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Come on, Steaua Bucharest got just one single point in the Champions League groups. Dinamo, the champions, didnt qualify at all, and the teams in the UEFA Cups failed miserably.

Ajax is a bit back on track.

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Originally Posted by edyzmedieval

Come on, Steaua Bucharest got just one single point in the Champions League groups. Dinamo, the champions, didnt qualify at all, and the teams in the UEFA Cups failed miserably.

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Euro 2008 > Shiny Euro Club Baubles

Now, as I rub sleep from my eyes, I see that Boro beat Arsenal?!?!

This is usually the fixture that pulls me both ways, so I'm glad I missed it.
But still. Tuncay scored again, as well as Rosický, so I should be pleased.

I'd say Boro are a secret bogey team of ours. Either we beat them badly or they beat us.

Shame they stopped being the Russian's bogey team. Mauling that unstoppable
Chelsea side tops this recent result, I'd think. Perhaps Henry is required for
Arsenal playing the 'mighty' Boro. If I recall correctly, he scored most of his
league goals against them.

A little bit of guessing here: Piräus - Werder Bremen tonight: I would say [love to see] a 1:2....I am veeeeery ecxited about this game in the CL, Bremen lost their game on the week end vs. Hannover in a good match [4:3], so I hope they are back on track for this very young & gifted Greek Team. Go WERDER!!!:cheerleader: :cheerleader: :cheerleader: If they loose, I will never ever play KH...I swear!:laugh4:

:uhoh:

Results:

Chelsea 0-0 Valencia
FC Porto 2-0 Beşiktaş
Marseille 0-4 Liverpool
Olympiacos 3-0 Werder
Real Madrid 3-1 SS Lazio
Schalke 04 3-1 Rosenborg

So no KH 4 Subedei....but a new arch enemy.....:skull: Well, let's have some UEFA action...and go Schalke and Glasgow

Go Glasgow indeed. Those Rangers face an absolute rumping
tonight. They'll need all the support they can get.

[That said, if Caen can do it, anyone can ... right?]

Results:

Arsenal 2-1 Steaua
Barcelona 3-1 VfB Stuttgart
Fenerbahçe 3-1 CSKA Moskva
PSV 0-1 Inter
Rangers 0-3 Lyon
AS Roma 1-1 Man Utd
Slavia 0-3 Sevilla
Sporting CP 3-0 Dynamo Kiev

Edit:

Wow, hat tricks for two players in the Wigan-Blackburn game: Santa Cruz and Bent. Not sure I've ever seen that before

Thoughts on MegaSuperÜberDestroyerDeciderBonanza™ Sunday© in England,
anyone?

• Will Liverpool be dumped out of the title race before Christmas again?
• Will Drogbaless Chelsea take top spot from the faltering Arsenal?
• Will the only goal come with United nicking a late one off Wes Brown's
  backside, i.e. anti-climax / disappointment of the season?

Some facts:

Liverpool haven't beaten the Mancs at home in the league since 2001. The
last time they took even a point against them at home in the league was back
in 2005.

Arsenal haven't beaten Chelsea at home in the league since 2003. The only recent
win for either side in this league fixture came in 2005. [0-2 Chelsea win.]

Will Liverpool be dumped out of the title race before Christmas again?

Liverpool is still miiiles away from challenging Man Ure, Arse and Chelsea for the title. I don't know whatever gave them the idea that they could compete with them over a full competition in the first place.

Benitez is right, Liverpool still need to invest. Unfortunately, tactical brilliance is Rafa's strength, not buying players. He's bought too many so-so's, and not enough really decisive players. It's the same mistake that Jol made with Tottenham. In the despair and frustration of both clubs to bridge the gap, both have invested in the wrong way: spending big on 'almost-worldclass' players, lots of them.

Both clubs thought that the gap they had to bridge, those one or two places on the table, was a small one. This is not the case. Footy has become solidified at the top. There are too many 'winner takes all' effects nowadays. Man U and Arsenal dominated for a decade. Chelsea could only break their dominance through the exceptional financial means of Abramowich. The top in the Premiership is near unassailable.

As it is, the gap between the last place in the Championship and fifth place in the EPL is easier to bridge than the gap between fifth and fourth place (Tottenham), or fourth and first (Liverpool).

The problem is not unique to the EPL. Almost all the big competitions are plagued nowadays by the 'Scotland syndrome'. That is, one, two or three select clubs having a stranglehold on the competition. Scotland, Portugal and the Netherlands have known this problem for ages. Nowadays, France, England and Italy suffer from the same. The sole exceptions left, somewhat, are Germany, where the top has always consisted of just one club, with a different competitor every year. And Spain, where other clubs still manage to compete with Barca and Madrid on a regular basis.

The worst case of this phenomenon is of course the Ligue 1. In the nineties, eight different clubs won the title, none winning in two consecutive years. In the 2000's, only one, Olympique Lyon. Who are well on course for their seventh title in a row.

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

The worst case of this phenomenon is of course the Ligue 1. In the nineties, eight different clubs won the title, none winning in two consecutive years. In the 2000's, only one, Olympique Lyon. Who are well on course for their seventh title in a row.

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But shall they not be broken by the mighty, uh... Nancy? No it doesn't sound
convincing in the slightest, does it? Germany gave me hope last season, but
that was, as I understand it, due to a massive injection of Russian cash, via
Schalke 04 and Gazprom. Of course, they bottled it, allowing a promising squad
to take their place. But now the implosion of VfB Stuttgart's title challenge and
the inability of the others to take advantage of Bayern's off-days mean that
the Bundesliga looks dead again. Feel free to correct me on this anyone, but I
don't think Werder or HSV is going to be able to nick it.

Our own league deceived us a few seasons ago, and the inability of the team
responsible to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League and so get
the financial shot in the arm they so desperately needed means we're effectively
back to square one.

As for England, I look at the situation now, and have to ask, how did Everton
manage to break through? It's just unfortunate for them they had to face
Villarreal, of all teams. This season, bearing in mind Liverpool's weakness, I can
only hope they fall away and City take their place. However unlikely that might
be, I have to think they're the only team that may be capable, given a few more
clever buys.


Edit: Alright, it's underway. Let me just register the fact that even with what's
been written above, I would quite like a Liverpool win today [simply due to my
undying love for all things 'Man Ure', yes.] and of course a win for Arsenal.

I think we will see a draw or jammy win for rednose-led Red Sox and a draw at
the Emirates.

...

Was convinced they were going to equalise. Nice to see Shaun's looking after his
old man's team.

Uefa Cup Results:

FC Bayern 6-0 Aris Thessaloniki
Braga 2-0 Crvena Zvezda
FC Zürich 0-5 Bayer Neverkusen
Galatasaray 0-0 FK Austria Wien
Getafe 2-1 Anderlecht
Hapoel Tel-Aviv 1-3 Aalborg
Panionios GSS 2-3 Bordeaux
Toulouse 2-1 Spartak Moskva

• Bolton advance from Group F in third place, and will face a Group winner.
• Tottenham advance from Group G in second place, and will face a
  Champions League Group reject. [Rangers please.]
• Aberdeen will advance from Group B in third place, if they beat
  Copenhagen tonight. [No chance.]

Carling Cup Semi-finals:

Chelsea - Everton
Arsenal - Tottenham

[Away team plays sesond leg at home.]

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